Operations, such as surveying, drilling, wireline testing, completions, production, planning and field analysis, are typically performed to locate and gather valuable downhole fluids. During the operations, data is typically collected for analysis and/or monitoring of the operations. Such data may include, for instance, subterranean formation, equipment, historical and/or other data. Such formation data may be static or dynamic. Static data relates to, for instance, formation structure and geological stratigraphy that define geological structures of the subterranean formation. Dynamic data relates to, for instance, fluids flowing through the geologic structures of the subterranean formation over time. Such static and/or dynamic data may be collected to learn more about the formations and the valuable assets contained therein.
Sensors may be positioned about the field to collect data relating to various operations. For instance, sensors in the drilling equipment may monitor drilling conditions, sensors in the wellbore may monitor fluid composition, sensors located along the flow path may monitor flow rates and sensors at the processing facility may monitor fluids collected. Other sensors may be provided to monitor downhole, surface, equipment or other conditions. Such conditions may relate to the type of equipment at the wellsite, the operating setup, formation parameters or other variables of the field. The monitored data is often used to make decisions at various locations of the field at various times. Data collected by these sensors may be further analyzed and processed. Data may be collected and used for current or future operations. When used for future operations at the same or other locations, such data may sometimes be referred to as historical data.
The data may be used to predict downhole conditions, and make decisions concerning operations. Such decisions may involve well planning, well targeting, well completions, operating levels, production rates and other operations and/or operating parameters. Often this information is used to determine when to drill new wells, re-complete existing wells or alter wellbore production. Field conditions, such as geological, geophysical, and reservoir engineering characteristics, may have an impact on operations, such as risk analysis, economic valuation, and mechanical considerations for the production of subsurface reservoirs. Data from one or more wellbores may be analyzed to plan or predict various outcomes at a given wellbore. In some cases, the data from neighboring wellbores, or wellbores with similar conditions or equipment, may be used to predict how a well will perform. There are usually a large number of variables and large quantities of data to consider in analyzing operations. It is, therefore, often useful to model the behavior of the operation to determine a desired course of action. During the ongoing operations, the operating parameters may be adjusted as field conditions change and new information is received.
Simulators for modeling aspects of a field receive field data as input and process the data to generate simulation results. Typically, the input model and input language for the simulators are as varied as the number of simulators so that if a user wishes to use features of different simulators in a particular field analysis the user has to prepare an input model tailored for each simulator.